Anger and Mercy
by Sir Estheim I
Summary: A collection of in game one shots, where Hope is angry but is granted mercy by one unlikely ally. See how he changes over time. (With some hints of HopexLight).
1. Chapter 1

**Anger and Mercy**

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- Lake Bresha -

'Why'd this have to happen to me' he thought. 'Everything was going fine and now I'm a L'cie, enemy of Cocoon.'

The ground beneath him was neither hot nor cold but it was definitely hard, much more resilient than stone or wood, it was crystallised.

"This must be… uh… Lake Bresha?" the eldest L'cie remarked. "Guess we fell from up there… and the lake turned to crystal?" He pointed out. "Help me out here, I mean did the Fal'cie do this? How in the world did we end up here?"

"How should I know?" said a cold yet calm female voice.

Hope couldn't help being drawn to the voice after the recent loss of his mother. Although it was all their fault she was dead, specifically Snow's. 'Maker, why'd he have to get stuck with him of all people.' Hope could feel the frustration and anger welling up inside of him and he knew that no one else could feel the same as he did right now.

"We're alive… How?" Vanille started before being rudely interrupted.

"Serah!" Snow shouted. "No one survives a fall from that height, not without a miracle. Serah saved us-"

"Serah!" the stern woman interjected angrily. "Listen, it's all your fault she go-"

'Maybe someone did understand!' Hope thought triumphantly. He wasn't alone in blaming Snow. Hope gazed up from where he had rested his head in the crook of his arms, only to see a lumbering Cie'th headed the party's way. He went straight into the flight part of the fight and flight survival technique and hid as he knew he would be no help against the monster.

"Watch out!" roared Snow, urgency tingling through his normally calmer tones.

And the battle was over before it began. 'He used magic' thought Hope angrily. 'I suppose that makes sense considering that we are L'cie now.' Hope quickly returned to the group from his hiding place.

"What did I just do?" Snow whispered quietly to himself.

However Hope didn't miss his exclamation, "You used magic" he answered aggressively. "You used the power of L'cie. The Fal'cie cursed us, we're L'cie now!" Hope finished, his anger dying down a little. The outburst towards Snow had released some tension.

"So we really are L'cie." Snow started by stating the obvious.

The strawberry haired woman beside him groaned, probably because of Snow's stupidity. And the older black man checked his brand and groaned in disappointment.

"Looks like it." He replied bitterly.

Snow then asked Vanille if she had been branded.

"Yeah, right here." she turned to the side and lifted her skirt to reveal the pulse L'cie brand on her upper thigh.

"Okay..." replied Snow looking away swiftly.

"L'cie to the last…" the female soldier muttered.

Hope now stood within a circle of L'cie surrounded by the other four. The gravity of the situation finally set in, and Hope dropped to his knees, feeling hollow inside.

Even though he had asked himself the question before he voiced it out loud now. Hoping to vent at someone or something for the frustration he felt.

"Why… Why me?" He whispered almost inaudibly. "I don't even know you!" he shouted at the icy blue eyed woman. "And you had to go and attack that thing?!" the older members including Snow looked downcast and ashamed that they had pulled him into this. "Just leave me alone!" He shouted. "It's your fault… it's your fault my- You could've…" Hope couldn't finish what he wanted to say to Snow. He instead decided to unleash his fury more. "ALL OF THIS IS YOUR AND SERAH'S FAULT!" he roared. And this seemed to anger Snow.

"Hey watch it!" He growled, defending his fiancé more than himself.

But Hope suddenly felt threatened. Not just by the larger man's stature but by his tone of voice. He fell down and scooted away from his adversary before hitting into something almost as sturdy as the crystal that now surrounded them. Hope looked up into the cerulean eyes of the soldier. Whom he had seen was a force to be reckoned with. She had not hesitated to beat Snow into the ground before, and Hope was expecting the same fate. But instead she spared him.

"Sorry…" Snow muttered.

Soon after Hope was astounded as someone grabbed him by the shoulders. 'Here it comes' he thought, waiting for the punch but it never came. Instead he opened his eyes to see Vanille's cheerful features.

"Everything's gonna be alright. You'll see." She chimed and for some reason Hope felt reassured. He wondered why the soldier had spared him. Perhaps he would never know. 'If I get a chance I'll ask her.' He promised. But in the end couldn't help feeling that he had made more enemies than friends.

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Authors Notes

So I've been playing through FFXIII and I thought I'd do a few one shots based on some of the interactions in the game and how I think they'd work. I'll probably focus on Light and Hope as their relationship is the most interesting to me personally. I just wanted to add a whole HopexLight spin on a few of the moments in the game. Anyway if you liked this and want to see more let me know, because I'll be doing smaller stories until my exams are over then I'll move back to my main story.


	2. Chapter 2: She Left Me

Chapter 2: She Left Me

-The Vile Peaks-

Hope Estheim had been a lonely boy for the majority of his short existence, so when he mother was gone he felt more lost than ever. He reached out to the other L'cie in the hopes of not being alone and he found someone who he could understand. Lightning.

Hope ran to catch up to Lightning and she heard him long before he reached her. She stopped and turned her head slightly.

"Just you?" She asked stoically.

Hope was taken unaware at first but answered swiftly, "For now I guess." 'I hope the others are okay too' he thought. "Should we wait?" He finished.

"They'll catch up… eventually." The soldier answered, her voice seemed to soften when Hope was with her.

Afterwards the two companions made good headway towards Palumpolum, quickly dealing with any Pulsework Soldiers or anything else that had the misfortune of crossing their path. They didn't talk much but Hope had learned that was to be expected of the young soldier. He rarely asked questions about their surroundings but when he did, it was mainly about the Pulsian nature of most of the scrap metal and other trash that surrounded them.

Hope however did not have the stamina of a soldier and tired quickly. 'Maker, I'm so tired.' He stated mainly to himself as he took a few deep breaths to regain some of his lost strength.

Lightning seemed to stop. So Hope decided it would be a good time to rest and sat down. 'Peace at last.' he thought.

He looked up at the obstacle in front of them and asked "Can we get through this way?", "You know where you're going, right?" He asked when he received no answer.

"I've been here on missions before." she answered but she seemed disconnected and distant from the whole situation.

"Missions?" Hope was beginning to get suspicious of Lightning. "Nothing to do with the purge though?" He asked.

"The purge is PSICOM's baby." Lightning replied, angry at Hope insinuating she had anything to do with the purge. She went on to explain the two sides of the military, The Guardian Corps and PSICOM. "I was guardian corps, Bodhum Security Regiment." She finished explaining like a teacher would to an ignorant student.

Hope was still slightly confused about her though and he wanted to know more. "Wait… I don't get it. If you're not PSICOM, why'd you board the train?"

Lightning looked around solemnly and said "For Serah."

Hope should've known this would have been the reason but he had to make sure. 'I feel bad for asking now.' He thought sadly. Seeing Serah turn into crystal wasn't something that he was going to be able to forget.

"Sorry." He muttered.

"It's okay." Lightning said understandingly "I would have asked the same thing."

"I had to rescue Serah before they transported the vestige to Pulse, and out of my reach." She continued. "My only chance to save her was to join the purge." She finished.

"You're telling me you got on that train to save your sister?" Hope asked wanting to know more as well as adding his own views. "That's crazy… I could never do something like that" he murmured dropping his head in shame. 'Why am I so weak.' he thought angrily. 'I'm useless, I can hardly protect myself.'

Lightning then turned to him in the middle of his disarray and said "It's not a question of can or can't. There are some things in life, you just do."

Even though Hope found this speech encouraging he couldn't help doubting himself. "That's easy for someone like you to say." In a way it was a self-depreciating to himself and a compliment towards Lightning.

She didn't take the statement well and just groaned while Hope stared at his feet in embarrassment.

Before he knew it she was scaling the wall. "Lightning!" he shouted in an attempt to get her to slow down but she just kept going.

"She left me." Hope whined, realising that he was alone, yet again.

* * *

Hope didn't know how long he had been sitting there but he guessed it would have been a few hours. He heard footsteps approaching and lifted his head to see Sazh and Vanille headed his way.

"We made it." Vannile squealed happily.

"Where's 'grumpy'." Sazh asked referring to Lightning.

Hope looked up at the wall and motioned with his head to show them where she had went.

"Got left behind? Huh." Sazh said trying to comfort Hope.

"Leave me alone!" Hope shouted angrily. Even though all he wanted was to not be alone. 'I wish she hadn't left me like that.' he thought. 'Maybe I did something wrong?' "It's over for me." He finished, summing up his distress.

"It's not over." said Vanille cheerfully. For some reason Hope couldn't help but believe her.

* * *

**Authors Notes**

**I'm hoping you guys like this take on that specific scene. I'm always thinking of what the characters must be feeling when playing through the game.**

**As always keep reading and reviewing.**


	3. Chapter 3: Odin

**Authors Notes**

**Been playing through the game and that battle against Odin is tough, anyway on with the story as I'm sure you've all been yearning for an update. Enjoy.**

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Chapter 3: Odin

- The Vile Peaks -

After a while Hope and the others caught up with Lightning and rested for the night making harsh decisions before heading their separate ways. Hope and Lightning still headed towards Palumpolum and Sazh and Vanille now headed towards Nautillus.

Hope was still struggling to keep up with Lightning's pace and even if he had grown stronger he could still not match a soldier of her calibre. Lightning had told hope that it would be "Fight after Fight with her." But he had not realised how true that was until now. He had no idea that he would hav had to fight that many PSICOM soldiers. Falling from the pulse armament hadn't done him any good either. He was now trailing behind Lightning, so he rushed to keep up his breathing becoming heavy and raspy as he depleted the last of his stamina. He reached a bridge by a waterfall and tripped as he ran to catch up with the soldier.

"Aahhh!" He exclaimed as he hit the ground.

Lightning had run out of patience for the boy. "This isn't working." She said angrily. "I mean you're a liabaility, you'll just slow me down." She explained.

"What?!" Hope exclaimed, his pain evident. 'She's going to leave me. Again.' He thought sadly.

"Sorry…" She said.

'Is she really sorry or is she just saying that because I'm a 'kid'." Hope wondered.

"I can't protect you when – Ahh." She grunted in pain, hunching over like she had been shot.

'What's going on?' Hope thought anxiously. His anger soon rose as he realised she was leaving him again.

"You can't leave me here." He moaned accusingly. "You've got to take me with you" He pleaded angrily.

"Enough!" Shouted Lightning sternly. Although her voice wavered because of the intense pain she was in. "The whole world is against us." she explained, dropping to her knees.

Hope now became more worried for Lightning than for himself. 'What should I do?' He questioned. 'She needs help.'

"I can hardly keep myself alive." She murmured through gritted teeth. "Let alone some helpless kid!"

Hope felt even worse for pressuring her into helping him. But he was annoyed that she still thought of him as a kid.

"I don't have time to baby you. You want to get tough? Do it on your own!" She finished angrily.

A pink light emitted from her body completely engulfing her, before forming a strange pattern on the ground.

The light was very bright. But Hope stared into it in search of Lightning, fearing the worst. A massive robotic creature seemed to smash into the bridge from the sky. It caused Hope to cover his face for a second because of the force of the impact.

'Seriously what's going on.' He asked no one in particular.

Lightning was standing behind the creature and seemed just as surprised and dazed as Hope. "This cannot be happening." She stated angrily.

The creature leaped forwards, and made to attack Hope. Hope didn't even know what to do. He tried running but tripped and fell flat on his ass. The creature looked as if it was about to strike a finishing blow on Hope and he shielded his face in preparation of his imminent termination.

"Look out!" Lightning shouted jumping forwards.

Hope screamed in fear knowing the end was nigh. But the strike dint hit its mark. Instead it made a clanging sound as it clashed with another blade. Lightning had saved him yet again. Throughout the fight Hope tried to hold his own against Odin. Although he appreciated Lightning healing him as he cast various spells at Odin.

Lightning seemed to care for him now, more than she had before. And through her protection and strength they survived the fight with the eidolon and Lightning gained it's trust.

* * *

After the battle Lightning collapsed. Hope could tell she was exhausted. "Lightning!" he said worriedly, then kneeled at her level. "Your brand looks different." he commented. "Was that an eidolon? Like L'cie can summon?" he asked.

Lightning didn't look sure but just said "Tch… Magic and mumbo jumbo… I must've hit my head on that purge train."

"Um…" Hope started warily. "Am I really in your way?" He asked, needing an answer as he felt more useless than usual.

Lightning simply glared, sheathed her gun blade and walked away.

Hope panicked. 'She's still going to leave me.' He thought sadly. "I'll do better!" He shouted earnestly. "I'll try harder, I'll-"

"Hope." Lightning said sternly to silence the teen. Lightning looked at him. "We'll toughen you up." she simply said, then continued to walk.

Hope was surprised that she still wanted him to go with her, but he wasn't going to argue with her choice.

"I'm sorry… About before." She said with the utmost sincerity.

'Lightning never says sorry.' Hope thought. 'She's changed. I've changed her.' Hope smiled and ran to keep up with her, knowing he could trust her and in time he hoped she would trust him too.

* * *

Shortly after they ran into more PSICOM rangers, now was Hope's chance to prove himself to Lightning.

"Got my back?" Lightning asked.

"Yeah." Hope replied, knowing that he could handle the soldiers.

This time Hope was the one tired from the fight.

"We'll rest here." Lightning said, her tone softening now that the immediate threat was gone.

"Sorry." Hope replied. 'Why am I still so weak.' he thought as he collapsed.

"I'll look around, you rest up." Lightning stated as if she was distracted.

Hope rested his head against a rock and fell asleep almost immediately.

Moments later Lightning returned to find Hope sleeping soundly. She sat opposite him.

"Mom…" Hope muttered in his sleep.

Lightning stared for a moment but huffed in amusement, "Not by a long shot." She replied, whilst smiling at the platinum haired boy.

She watched him sleep, noticing how peaceful he looked. She stayed up, ready to protect him, no matter what.

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**Authors Notes**

**As you can see I try not to manipulate the story much but I may add in extra hints of HopexLight stuff and a few extra scenes here and there. I'm just hoping (no pun intended) that I can create some intense feels really. Please show me you want more of these by giving reviews or following the story.**


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